It’s almost time to vote for your local area’s SYP representative! Here’s what you need to know.
What is SYP?
The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is the democratically elected voice of Scotland’s young people.
SYP.org.uk, 2023
Every two years, you have the chance to vote on who will represent young people from your local area as a member of the SYP. These members are responsible for listening to your thoughts and opinions on the issues that matter to you, and sharing them with decision-makers.
Young people aged 14-25 can apply to be a candidate for this election, which means they would like to be considered in this vote. You can find out more about the candidates on the SYP website.
Who Can Vote?
All young people aged 11 – 25 can vote in this election.
What Are Constituencies?
Local areas are divided into constituencies for voting, to make sure each area has roughly the same amount of voters to make it fair. This is not the same as a local authority which means you might need to check which constituency you are in. You can do this by entering your postcode on this Scottish Government Website.
Who Are The Candidates For My Constituency?
You can find out which young people in your area are running as candidates for this vote by entering your postcode on the SYP website. You will also find a little bit of information about them to help you make your decision.
The following constituencies are each electing two MSYPs
- Edinburgh Central
- Edinburgh Northern and Leith
- Edinburgh Pentlands
- Edinburgh Southern
- Edinburgh Western
No election is needed in Edinburgh Eastern.
How to Vote?
The vote will be open from 19th February to 3rd March.
Vote using your Young Scot National Entitlement Card number at voting.young.scot – you need to use a desktop or laptop computer, some larger tablets will work, but it will not work from a phone.
Step-by-Step guide with images
There are two video guides on the Young Scot YouTube channel, one for desktop/laptop voting and one for mobile phone voting:
If you do not have a Young Scot National Entitlement Card then you can request a temporary number from the local youth work team by email. Click on “I don’t have an NEC number” and select “Click here to get your Alternate NEC number”. You can then choose your local authority and find the email address you need.
Once you have logged in using your card number or a temporary number, you will be presented with this election (it should be the only choice at this time).
The election runs on the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. This means you can pick just one candidate, or you can rank as many candidates as you like in order 1,2,3… etc.
Note that you cannot pick one candidate as number 1 and then rank two or more candidates as number 2, each candidate should have their own number. If you don’t want to choose who should be number 3 or 4, only pick two candidates and submit your vote.
Who To Ask For Help?
If you need any more information about how to vote, you can email your local area’s youth work team. Their email address can usually be found on your local council’s website or at voting.young.scot when you click “I don’t have an NEC number”.